


and it's all just dust and dark

by RhineGold



Category: Stargate Universe
Genre: AU from Justice, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-15 00:09:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29799993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RhineGold/pseuds/RhineGold
Summary: "I thought..." She began, glancing at Matt, before biting her lip.A handful of rocks scattered the canyon floor. Not enough - not nearly enough.There hadn't been a rockslide.
Kudos: 9





	and it's all just dust and dark

**Author's Note:**

> This is another vignette I'd LOVE to develop into a larger story. Isn't that always the way??

The gut-churning sensation that came with crossing the barrier would never sit well with her. As they passed through (crossed over? rematerialized?), she nearly stumbled into Eli as he stopped dead. The horizon spread before them, another tan and desolate landscape. Mountains rose, jagged and pristine, in the distance, spilling into a tangle of ridges and hills that ringed an open, dusty plain. 

She glanced over at Matt, where he turned to spit on the ground (something she hated but had come to recognize as a sign of nervousness), and back to Eli. He held the kino device, frowning and sweating already in the unforgiving sun. After a moment, though, she realized he was not looking at the device, but the ground at their feet.

She realized what had placed Matt on edge - boot prints, several sets, tromping too and from the gate. 

~*~

"So it's bad that we've found a planet we've visited? Doesn't that mean we're... on the right track?" Matt was saying.

Eli continued down the hill, eyes on the kino device and not the ground. "Yeah, except we're _going the wrong way_..."

"So we turn around, try the other direction from where we ... Eli!"

The younger man had stumbled, falling ankle-deep into a thin, nearly invisible trench. He wobbled, yelping as his ankle wrenched, sending him tumbling to his hands and knees. Biting out a curse, he managed to withdraw his boot from the gap. 

Chloe was on him in an instant, hands hoovering uncertainly. "Is it... can you move it?"

With a groan, he rolled onto his elbows, letting his head sag back weakly. "It's not... broken, I don't think." 

"What was that?" She cried, relief making her voice shriller than she liked. 

When she turned, Matt knelt at the trench, trailing his fingers along the line. "This looks... cut..."

"Hey, guys?" Eli called, indicating the trail of broken and compacted dirt, blazing a faint path towards the ridged hills. 

~*~

Matthew Scott did not swear often, considering. For all his attempts at looking tough and hard when in uniform, his midwestern charm seemed to take every edge off. Still, somehow, the string of profanity he let forth now felt oddly appropriate. 

None of them had visited this planet when Destiny had been in range. All had been occupied with other matters at the time. But they had all seen the images, heard the discussion (the explanations). 

The ship was ugly. Lacking the Ancient's grace, lacking the power of the Asguard, it felt constricted, boxlike, inorganic. It was broken, wedged into the walls of the canyon in a way that spoke of violence, of error. But it was there.

"I thought..." She began, glancing at Matt, before biting her lip. 

A handful of rocks scattered the canyon floor. Not enough - not nearly enough. 

Matt said nothing. Eli slumped against one of the shelves of rock, obviously unconcerned things might shift as he favored his ankle. 

She heard, but didn't hear, their protests - Eli's surprised, high, Matt's harsher and more commanding. They sounded far away. Her fingers traced the edge of the hatch, following the seam until the mental warped and twisted, bent and beaten into a gap just large enough for a man's fingers. 

There hadn't been a rockslide. 

The catch opened, almost easily, and she was not imagining the flecks of dried blood that stained her fingertips, rust coloured and brittle from the heat and time. How much time? Weeks? More?

It was dark inside the hatch. A hand grabbed at her ankle as she hoisted herself upwards. The chamber inside felt mercifully cool after hours in the blistering sun. 

Through the weak light filtering in behind her, she could just make out the walls, dark and severe, covered in layers and rows of white chalked characters. Numbers. Some words. 

She bit back the scream before it could even form in her throat as a low shadow in the corner shifted. Not towards her, but away, drawing back against the equation-littered walls in a movement that could only be perceived as fright. 

Keeping her voice gentle, Chloe held up both hands in a gesture of non-aggression. His eyes glittered low in the dim light, wider even than she ever remembered. 

"...Dr. Rush...?"

~*~


End file.
